Image credit Paul Todd Volvo Ocean Race    The early part of Leg 2 promises to be one of the most challenging of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 with the teams facing an immediate quandary over which route to choose when they exit Cape Town on their way to Abu Dhabi.  Race meteorologist Gonzalo Infante is expecting 15 to 20 knot west to south west winds for the start and says the first 35 miles between the Cape...

Image Credit Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Yesterday followers of the Volvo Ocean Race got another stark reminder of the brutal nature of this race and the toll it can take on people and equipment.  First came the news of the dismasting of second placed PUMA Ocean Racing in relatively moderate breezes. Then during a sail change on board CAMPER whilst the boat was hurtling along at over 20 knots, bowman Mike Parmenter was s...

  Image credit: Hamish Hooper/CAMPER ETNZ/Volvo Ocean Race Some onboard footage from the third and fourth placed boats in Leg 1 as they trail Telefonica and PUMA on the second half of the leg to Cape Town. The fleet now has to negotiate the St Helena High and are pushing hard south while avoiding the south atlantic convergence zone to the west, before try to hook into the easterly running low pressure systems which could fast forward them to Cape Town.&nbs...